Ben Horowitz’s Three Steps Guide To Hiring: Don’t judge a book by its cover

Source: The Rosen Group

Ben Horowitz’s Three Steps Guide To Hiring

Don’t judge a book by its cover

After interviewing about two dozen candidates and none of them had the strengths he sought. Then Ben interviewed Mark Cranney. Mark did not have the stereotype of a hard-charging sales executive. He was not tall and he went to a school that Ben never heard of — Southern Utah University. Mark also made people feel uncomfortable. However, after Ben spent more time with Mark, he is convinced that he was the one. Mark is knowledgeable on sales. He knew more about the deals that Ben’s sales team were working on and the deals that Ben didn’t even know about.

But every member of the executive staff (with one exception) and every member of the board of directors were against hiring Mark Cranney. As the company was fighting for survival, Ben needed someone like Mark to motivate the sales team. Read More...